. >> were you correct or incorrect when you said that the surge would be the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country's -- were you correct or incorrect? >> well i am not going to give you a -- a yes or no answer. >> show that he refused to answer the question. >> reporter: hagel did answer, standing by his word on the iraq war and revealing something about the kind of defense secretary he hopes to be. >> i saw consequences, and suffering and horror of war. i did question a surge -- is this going to be worth the sacrifice? we lost almost 1,200 dead americans during that surge. now was it required? was it necessary? >> reporter: hagel the first defense secretary who saw combat as an enlisted soldier. as a poor kid from nebraska he and his brother tom volunteered to serve in vietnam and served in the same unit in 1968. both getting wounded. each crediting the other for saving their lives. >> i don't see the lens of every world event, whether we should use american power through the lens of vietnam. but it is part of me. >> reporter: hagel's service was praised. >> i admire your